Information processing method, information processing system, information processing device and recording medium

ABSTRACT

When there is a request for acquisition of a printer driver from a client apparatus, a management server acquires device configuration information of each printer apparatus, and makes a judgment of a security level of each printer apparatus as well as makes a judgment of a confidentiality level of data to be handled by a user by referring to a user management table. A printer apparatus determines a printer apparatus to be recommended for the user and the determined information is transmitted to the client apparatus. When a printer apparatus to be used by the client apparatus is selected, a printer driver of the selected printer apparatus is transmitted from the management server to the client apparatus.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCTInternational Application No. PCT/JP2004/003506 which has anInternational filing date of Mar. 16, 2004 and designated the UnitedStates of America.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method of information processing, aninformation processing system, an information processing apparatus, anda computer readable memory medium in which a computer program forrealizing this information processing system and the informationprocessing apparatus is recorded that enable to set an informationdevice, which is recommended according to a user.

BACKGROUND ART

A system that shares an image forming apparatus from a plurality ofinformation processing apparatuses by connecting an informationprocessing apparatus and an image forming apparatus such as a printer,and a multi-function machine has been proposed and introduced in officesetc. This is primarily to deal with speeding up of the image formingapparatus as well as because the processing capacity of image formingserially has been installed by accepting a plurality of jobs withoutstagnation by installing an internal storage device in the image formingapparatus. Moreover, as the introduction of the information processingapparatus advances gradually and the number of users over thecommunication network increases, since it goes beyond the processingcapacity of the image forming apparatus, a new image forming apparatusis added according to the requirement.

Moreover, regarding data that is outputted according to instructionsfrom the information processing apparatus, special emphasis has beenplaced on security of data of a company and of an individual. Therefore,a system that encrypts print data that is transmitted between the imageforming apparatus and the information processing apparatus in thecommunication network has been proposed. Moreover, a so calledconfidentiality printing function in which printing jobs received at theimage forming apparatus are allowed to be stagnated temporarily and theprint out is started by password authentication has been installed inthe image forming apparatus (for example, Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-open No. 2001-306273).

Furthermore, in recent years, a storage device such as an HDD device(HDD: Hard Disk Drive) is installed in the image forming apparatus andprint data that is to be processed can be stored temporarily. At thistime, the confidentiality is protected by making the reading difficulteither by deleting data at a stage where the process is completed or byoverwriting by random data (for example, Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-open No. 59-50660 (1984)). By this, even in a case where theinternal storage device mentioned earlier is taken away by someone,illegal fetching of data is prevented.

Furthermore, a system in which data that is handled in the image formingapparatus is encrypted and a print out is taken by decryption has beenproposed.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Thus, in an environment where such various image forming apparatuses areconnected over a communication network, for connecting a new informationprocessing apparatus and using the image forming apparatus via thecommunication network, upon knowing by a user or a communication networkmanager in advance as to which image forming apparatus can be used,installation of an appropriate driver program in the informationprocessing apparatus is sought. Particularly, in a case of handling datathat is confidential according to a business operation, at this time itis desirable that a setting is made such that a request for a printingprocess can be made to an image forming apparatus in which a securityfunction for data as described earlier is installed.

However, under the current circumstances, since it is not known as towhich image forming apparatus is appropriate, in many cases a setting ismade to enable the use of an image forming apparatus that is easilyaccessible, and there is a problem that it is difficult to know inadvance as to whether the easily accessible image forming apparatus hassuch a security function or not.

The present invention is made in view of this problem and it is anobject of the present invention to provide a method of informationprocessing, an information processing system, an information processingapparatus, and a computer readable memory medium in which a computerprogram for realizing this information processing system and informationprocessing apparatus is recorded that make it easy to select anappropriate information device by structuring to select the informationdevice to be recommended for use corresponding to a received searchrequest when the search request for the information device is received,based on device information that is stored in advance and to transmitthe device information of the selected information device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an informationprocessing system and a computer readable memory medium in which acomputer program for realizing this information processing system isrecorded that enable to make it easy to select an appropriateinformation device according to the user, by structuring to select aninformation device to be recommended for use based on user informationrelated to the user of the information processing apparatus and thedevice information.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide aninformation processing system and a computer readable memory medium inwhich a computer program for realizing this information processingsystem is recorded that enable to make it easy to select an appropriateinformation device according to the confidentiality of information thatis handled by the user by structuring such that the device informationincludes information related to a security function for information thatis processed by the information device.

The method of information processing according to the present invention,that is a method of information processing in which device informationof one or a plurality of information devices is stored and the deviceinformation is transmitted according to a request that is received fromoutside, is characterized by receiving a search request for informationdevice, selecting an information device to be recommended for useaccording to a requester of the received search request based on thestored device information, and transmitting device information of theselected information device to the requester.

In the present invention, when a search request for information deviceis received, the information device to be recommended for use accordingto the requester of the received search request is selected by thestored device information related to information device and the deviceinformation of the selected information device is transmitted.Therefore, it is possible to provide an information device that issuitable for the requester of the search request and an existence of anappropriate information device can be checked without checking eachinformation device on a search request side.

The information processing system according to the present invention ischaracterized by being formed by connecting a first and a secondinformation processing apparatus and one or a plurality of informationdevices via a communication line, the first information processingapparatus includes a storage means for storing data information relatedto information equipment, in the information processing system thattransmits the equipment information according to the request from thesecond information processing apparatus, the second informationprocessing apparatus includes means for transmitting a search requestfor searching an information device to be recommended for use accordingto the first information processing apparatus, the first informationprocessing apparatus includes a means for receiving the search requesttransmitted from the second information processing apparatus andselecting means for selecting an information device that recommends useto a requester of the received search request based on the deviceinformation stored in the storage means, and device information of theselected information device is preferably transmitted to the requester.

In the present invention, when a search request for informationequipment to be used is received via the communication line, theinformation device that recommends use to the requester of the searchrequest is selected based on device information stored in advance anddevice information of the selected information device is transmitted tothe requester. Therefore, it is possible to provide an informationdevice that is suitable for the requester of the search request and anexistence of an appropriate information device can be easily checkedwithout checking each information device on the search request side.

The information processing system according to the present invention ischaracterized by further including means for storing user informationabout user of the first information processing apparatus and the secondinformation processing apparatus, the selecting means preferably selectsthe information device that recommends based on user information and thedevice information that is stored in the storage means.

In the present invention, since the information equipment to berecommended is selected based on the user information about the user ofthe second information processing apparatus and the device information,it is possible to provide an information device that is suitable for theuser and information of appropriate information device can be acquiredwithout checking each information device via the communication line on auser's side.

The information processing system according to the present invention ischaracterized by the device information including information related tothe security function for information to be processed by the informationdevice.

In the present invention, the information related to the securityfunction for the information to be processed is included in the deviceinformation. Therefore, it is possible to provide an appropriateinformation device according to the confidentiality of the informationthat is handled by the user and information related to informationdevice can be acquired without checking each information device that hasa security function for the information on the user's side.

The information processing system according to the present invention ischaracterized by first information processing unit further includingmeans for storing setting information to be set when the secondinformation processing apparatus uses the information device and meansfor transmitting the setting information to the second informationprocessing apparatus.

In the present invention, setting information such as a driver programthat is to be set when information device is used, is stored and thissetting information can be transferred according to the requirement.Therefore, it is easy to acquire information of an appropriateinformation device without checking each information device via thecommunication line on the user's side, as well as to acquire settinginformation that is required when that information device is used.

The information processing system according to the present invention ischaracterized by the information device including means for receivingimage data and means for performing image forming on a sheet based onthe received image data.

In the present invention, the information device includes means forperforming image forming based on the received image data. Therefore,for an image forming apparatus such as a printer that is connected tothe communication line, it is possible to provide information suitablefor use by the user and to acquire easily information of the imageforming apparatus that suits an object of the user, without checkingeach image forming apparatus via the communication line on the user'sside.

The information processing system according to the present invention ischaracterized by the information device including means for creatingimage data upon reading an image on a document and means fortransmitting the created image data to outside.

In the present invention, the information device includes means fortransmitting the image data created upon reading the image on thedocument. Therefore, for an image forming apparatus such as a networkscanner that is connected to the communication line, it is possible toprovide information suitable for use by the user and to acquire easilyinformation of the image forming apparatus that suits an object of theuser, without checking each image forming apparatus via thecommunication line on the user's side.

The information processing apparatus according to the present inventionis characterized by enabling one or a plurality of information devicesvia the communication line, including storage means for storing deviceinformation related to connected information device, the informationprocessing apparatus that transmits said device informationcorresponding to a request from the outside, including means forreceiving the search request for information device and means forselecting the information device to be recommended for use according toa requester of the search request based on the data information storedin the storage means, and the equipment device of the selectedinformation device is preferably transmitted to the requester.

In the present invention, when a search request for the informationdevice to be used is received via the communication line, theinformation device to be recommended for use according to the requesterof the search request is selected based on the device information storedin advance and device information of the selected information device istransmitted to the requester. Therefore, it is possible to provide aninformation device that is suitable for the requester of the searchrequest and the existence of the appropriate information device can beeasily checked without checking each information device on the searchrequest side.

A computer readable memory medium according to the present invention inwhich a computer program is recorded that causes a computer to execute astep of transmitting the device information related to the informationdevice stored in advance based on the received request is characterizedby causing the computer to execute a step of selecting the informationdevice to be recommended for use according to the a requester of thereceived search request based on the stored device information andcausing the computer to execute a step of to transmitting theinformation of the selected information device to the requester.

In the present invention, when the search request for the informationequipment to be used is received, the information device to berecommended for use according to the requester of the search request isselected based on the device information stored in advance and thedevice information of the selected information device is transmitted torequester. Therefore, it is possible to provide an information devicesuitable for the requester of the search request and the existence ofthe appropriate information device can be easily checked withoutchecking each information device on the search request side.

A computer readable memory medium according to the present invention inwhich the computer program is recorded that causes a computer to executea step of transmitting the device information related to the informationdevice stored in advance based on the received request is characterizedby causing the computer to execute a step of selecting the informationdevice to be recommended for use according to a requester of thereceived search request based on the user information of the requesterthat is stored in advance and the device information and causing thecomputer to execute a step of transmitting the device information of theselected information device to the requester.

In the present invention, since the information device to be recommendedis let to be selected based on the user information and the deviceinformation, it is possible to provide the information deviceappropriate for the user and to acquire information of the appropriateinformation device without checking each information device on theuser's side.

The computer readable memory medium according to the present inventionis characterized by the device information including information relatedto the security function for the information that is to be processed bythe information device.

In the present invention, the information related to the securityfunction for the information that is to be processed is included in thedevice information. Therefore, it is possible to provide an appropriateinformation device according to the confidentiality of the informationthat is handled by the user and to acquire the information related tothe information device without checking each information device that hasthe security function for information on the user's side.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram describing an overall configuration of aninformation processing system according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram describing an internal configuration of aprinter device;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a system managementtable;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart describing a process while updating the systemmanagement table;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram describing an internal configuration of amanagement server;

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a user managementtable;

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a list of device configurationinformation of the management server;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram describing an internal configuration of aclient apparatus;

FIGS. 9A to 9G are schematic diagrams describing an operation in aprinter search program that is installed in the client apparatus;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a print-setting screen;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the print-setting screen;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the print-setting screen;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the print-setting screen; and

FIGS. 14A and 14B are flow charts describing a processing procedure ofthe information processing system according to the present embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR IMPLEMENTING THE INVENTION

The present invention is described below concretely based on diagramsshowing an embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram describing an overall configuration of aninformation processing system according to the present embodiment. Inthe diagram, 100A to 100D are printer devices or multi-function devicesthat have a plurality of image processing functions (hereinafter, calledas printer device 100 when there is no need to distinguish the printerdevices 100A to 100D), and a management server 200 which manages theentire system and client apparatuses 300A and 300B such as a personalcomputer are connected via a communication network N. A printer driverof the printer device 100 that serves a purpose of a user is installedin advance in the management server 200 and the client apparatuses 300Aand 300B, and an image forming can be performed on a paper bytransmitting a printing job that includes image data and document datacreated in the management server 200 and the client apparatuses 300A and300B to the desired printer device 100.

Moreover, the management server 200 has information related to a deviceconfiguration of the printer device 100 that exists on the communicationnetwork N and the printer driver of each printer device 100, and whileconnecting newly a client apparatus 300C such as a personal computer tothe communication network N, information of the printer device 100 to berecommended to a user of the client apparatus 300C is provided from themanagement server 200 as well as the printer driver of the printerselected in the client apparatus 300C is provided from the managementserver 200.

Further, in the present embodiment, although the printer device 100 islet to be an information device that is used by the management server200 and the client apparatuses 300A and 300B via the communicationnetwork N, it may be a so called network scanner device or a facsimiledevice that includes an image reading means and means that fortransmitting image data acquired by the image reading means. Moreover,the information device that can be used in the present informationprocessing system need not necessarily have the image processing meansdescribed earlier, and can be used in a storage device such as an HDDdevice that can be shared over the communication network, and a relaydevice that relays data between different networks.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram describing an internal configuration of theprinter device 100A. The printer device 100A includes a controllingsection 101 that has a CPU, and the controlling section 101 controlshardware such as a management section 103, an operating section 105, adisplay section 106, an image reading section 107, an image formingsection 108, a communication section 109, an image memory 110, and anHDD device 111, and a ROM installing section 112, which are connectedvia a bus 102.

The management section 103 includes a non-volatile memory and a controlprogram for controlling each hardware mentioned earlier is stored in apart of a storage area of the non-volatile memory. The controllingsection 101 controls the hardware by reading and executing the controlprogram, and operates as an unit that performs image forming etc. as awhole. Moreover, the management section 103 has a system managementtable 103 a that stores information related to a configuration of thehardware that is installed (device configuration information) andinformation related to a status inside the device (status information)and acquires the device configuration information by performingcommunication with each hardware when a power supply is put on, as wellas updates storage content of the system management table 103 a whenevernecessary, when there is a change in a status upon monitoring status ofeach hardware during the operation.

The operating section 105 includes various operation keys (not shown inthe diagram) for receiving operation instructions from the user, andreceives an input such as an operation of switching function of theprinter device 100A, number of prints, and copy density. The displaysection 106 includes a liquid crystal display or an LED display, and anoperating condition of the printer device 100A and various set valuesthat are inputted from the operating section 105 are displayed.Moreover, a part of the display section 106 includes touch panel typesoftware keys and may be structured to receive the various settingsdescribed earlier.

The image reading section 107 includes a light source that irradiateslight on the document, an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge CoupledDevice), and an AD converter (not shown in the diagram), and an image ofa document that is set in a predetermined reading position is caused tobe formed on the image sensor and converted into an analog electricsignal, the converted analog electric signal is subjected to an ADconversion by the AD converter. Further, a digital signal obtained by ADconversion, upon being subjected to correction such as correction oflight-distribution characteristics of the light source while reading thedocument and an unevenness in sensitivity of the image sensor, iscreated as digital image data.

The image forming section 108 includes charger that charges aphotosensitive drum to a predetermined electric potential, a laserwriting unit that creates an electrostatic latent image on thephotosensitive drum by emitting a laser beam according to the image datareceived from outside, a developing unit that visualizes theelectrostatic latent image formed on a surface of the photosensitivedrum by supplying a toner, and a transferring unit (not shown in thediagram) that transfers a toner image formed on the surface of thephotosensitive drum to a paper, and can form an image desired by theuser on the paper by electrophotography.

Further, in the present embodiment, although the image forming section108 is structured to perform the image forming by electrophotography inwhich the laser writing unit is used, the image forming section 108 mayas well be structured to perform the image forming by an inkjet method,a thermal transferring, and a sublimation method.

The communication section 109 includes a communication interface thatconforms to communication standards of the communication network N, andreceives job for executing various processing from the management server200 and the client apparatuses 300A and 300B that are connected to thecommunication network N. Moreover, when the printer device 100A is to beused as the so called network scanner, the image data of the documentthat is obtained by the image reading section 107 is transferred to anyof the management server 200 or the client apparatuses 300A and 300B viathe communication section 109. The communication section 109 controlstransmission and receiving of various jobs and image data etc.

The image memory 110 includes a semiconductor memory and storestemporarily data such as image data that is created upon reading theimage on the document by the image reading section 107 and image datathat is developed from the printing job received via the communicationsection 109. The temporarily stored image data in the image memory 110is transferred according to a purpose of use to the image formingsection 108, the communication section 109, or the HDD device 111 at atiming indicated by the controlling section 101. In other words, whenthe image forming is performed on a paper, the image data is transferredto the image forming section 108, when it is to be used as the networkscanner, the image data is transferred to the communication section 109,and when it is to be saved for using afterwards, the image data istransferred to the HDD device 111.

The HDD device 111 is a storage device that has a magnetic memory mediumin the form of a disc and stores image data that is subjected to outputprocess at the image forming section 108 etc. as process-history data.Further, when image data that is outputted once is to be outputted onceagain additionally due to a shortage of setting of number of outputcopies etc., by providing an instruction from the operating section 105in the printer device 100A or the management server 200 or the clientapparatuses 300A and 300B that are connected via the communicationnetwork N, it is possible to read the required image data from the HDDdevice 111 and to perform the image forming once again by transferringto the image forming section 108.

Furthermore, the printer device 100A according to the present embodimentincludes the ROM installing section 112 for adding a security functionfor data that is handled inside and when a security ROM 112 a isinstalled in the ROM installing section 112, the data that is handledinside is protected by encrypting or invalidating.

In the encryption of the data, after the image data that is inputted viathe image reading section 107 or the communication section 109 isencrypted, the image data is stored in the image memory 110 or the HDDdevice 111. Then, when there is an instruction for image forming fromthe controlling section 101 and the image data is transferred to theimage forming section 108, the image data is decrypted and used.Moreover, in invalidating the data, when the output process by the imageforming etc. is completed, image data for overwriting that is created byrandom numbers is overwritten repeatedly for a predetermined number oftimes on the image data that is stored in the image memory 110 or theHDD device 111. Thus by encrypting or invalidating the image datahandled inside, even in a case where some one has taken away the imagememory 110 or the HDD device 111, it becomes difficult to reproduce thestored data and it is possible to secure the confidentiality of thedata.

Moreover, the printer device 100A has a function of performing aconfidentiality process as another means of securing the confidentialityof the data. In the confidentiality process, when a printing job isreceived, image is not formed on a paper and outputted immediately, butinput of a predetermined password by a specific user from the operatingsection 105 is awaited, and the image forming is started when the useris authenticated to be the specific user by the input password, and apaper with the image formed on it is outputted.

Further, the printer devices 100B to 100D, when compared with theprinter device 100A, although differs at points such as to whether thesecurity ROM 112 a is installed or not, whether the confidentialityfunction is available or not, and the possibility of the processingcapacity and color printing, since the basic internal structure issimilar to an internal structure of the printer device 100A, thedetailed description is omitted.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the systemmanagement table 103 a. The system management table 103 a is classifiedmainly into device configuration information and status information. Thedevice configuration information includes information such as number ofsheets on which image is formed per minute (processing capacity),possibility of color printing, availability of a unit that performs apost processing of a stapler process etc., availability of the securityROM 112 a, and the confidentiality function. Moreover, the statusinformation includes information related to internal condition of theprinter such as progress of the received printing job, amount of papersleft in each paper feeding tray, and an amount of toner left. Further,the device configuration information and the status information mayinclude information other than the information mentioned above, forexample, information related to the encryption and invalidating of datamay be included instead of the information related to the availabilityof security ROM 112 a.

The system management table 103 a shown in FIG. 3 indicates that theprinter device 100A has the processing capacity of performing monochromeprinting on 45 sheets per minute, a post processing unit is notinstalled, the security ROM 112 a is installed in the ROM installingsection 112, and has the confidentiality function. Moreover, it showsthat in the current situation, the printer device 100A is in standbystate, an amount of papers left in a tray that accommodates A4 sizepapers is 50%, an amount of papers left in a tray that accommodates B5size papers is 90%, and an amount of toner left is 70%.

The controlling section 101 of the printer device 100A acquires thedevice configuration information and the status information byperforming communication with each section of the hardware at everypredetermined interval of time when the power supply is put on andduring the operation, and updates the system management table 103 a whenthere is a change in the device configuration or the status. Moreover,when there is a request from the management server 200 or the clientapparatuses 300A and 300B, the information stored in the systemmanagement table 103 a is transmitted to a requester of the request.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart describing a process while updating the systemmanagement table 103 a. To start with, when the power supply of theprinter unit 100A is put on (step S1), the controlling section 101performs a system check by performing communication with each section ofthe hardware (step S2), and makes a judgment of whether there is anabnormality in any section of the hardware (step S3). At this time, thecontrolling section 101 acquires the device configuration information bydetecting the availability of the security ROM 112 a, and updates theinformation when there is a change in the system management table 103 a.

When an abnormality is judged to be there at step S3, (NO at step S3),an error processing is performed (step S4) and an occurrence of an erroris displayed on the display section 106. Moreover, when no abnormalityis judged to be there at step S3 (YES at step S3), each section of thehardware is warmed up and receiving of data is started at the operatingsection 105, the image reading section 107, and the communicationsection 109 (step S5).

Next, the controlling section 101 performs a check of an operationstatus of each section of the hardware (step S6), and makes a judgmentof whether there is a change in the operation status by referring to thestatus information of the system management table 103 a (step S7), andwhen there is a change in the operation status (YES at step S7), thecontrolling section 101 updates the system management table 103 a (stepS8). Moreover, when there is no change in the operation status (NO atstep S7), the controlling section 101 does not update the systemmanagement table 103 a and executes the next process.

Next, the controlling section 101, by making a judgment of whether ornot there has been a forced interruption due to resetting or cutting ofthe power supply of the printer device 100A, makes a judgment of whetheror not the overall operation is ended (step S9), when a judgment of theoverall operation not ended is made (NO at step S9), process from stepS6 to step S8 is repeated, the operation of each section of the hardwareis checked periodically, and when a judgment of the overall operationended is made (YES at step S9), the process by this flow chart iscompleted.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram describing an internal configuration of themanagement server 200. The management server 200, concretely, is apersonal computer or a work station and includes a CPU 201 forcontrolling each section of a hardware that is described later. A ROM203, a RAM 204, an operating section 205, a display section 206, acommunication section 209, an auxiliary storage device 210, and aninternal storage device 211 are connected to the CPU 201 via a bus 202,and by reading and executing a control program that is stored in advancein the ROM 203, control of each section of the hardware is executed.Moreover, various data that is generated during the execution of thecontrol program and data that is inputted via the operating section 205and the communication section 209 are stored temporarily in the RAM 204.

The operating section 205 includes input members such as a keyboard, amouse, and a tablet, and receives instructions from a manager that is auser of the management server 200. The display section 206 includes adisplay unit such as a CRT display and a liquid crystal display, anddisplays information that is inputted via the operating section 205 andinformation that is inputted via the communication section 209. Thecommunication section 209 has a communication interface that conforms tocommunication standards of the communication network N and controls thetransmission and receiving of data that is transmitted between theprinter device 100 and the client apparatuses 300A and 300B that areconnected via the communication network N.

The auxiliary storage device 210 is a reading unit for reading acomputer program from a memory medium M such as an FD and a CD-ROM inwhich a computer program of the present invention is stored, and theread computer program is stored in the internal storage device 211 suchas an HDD device. The computer program stored in the internal storagedevice 211 is loaded to the RAM 204 at the time of execution and isexecuted by the CPU 201. By execution of the computer program themanagement server 200 operates as an information processing apparatusaccording to the present invention.

Moreover, a part of a storage area of the internal storage device 211 isused as a user management table 211 a in which information related tothe user of the client apparatuses 300A, 300B, and 300C is stored, andis referred to while determining the printer device 100 to berecommended to the user of the client apparatus 300C, which is connectednewly to the communication network N.

Furthermore, the internal storage device 211 stores the printer driverof each of the printer devices 100A to 100D and can provide according toa request from the client apparatuses 300A to 300C.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the user managementtable 211 a. The user management table 211 a associates and storesidentification information (for example network address such as an IPaddress) for identifying the client apparatuses 300A, 300B, and 300Cover the network N and information related to a user such as user'sname, position, and post. Therefore, when there is an access from theclient apparatuses (300A to 300C) over the communication network N tothe management server 200, it is possible to acquire in the managementserver 200, the information such as the name, position, and post of auser who uses that client apparatus (300A to 300C). Further, when thenew client apparatus 300C is to be connected to the communicationnetwork N, the network address and the information of the user isassociated and recorded in advance.

Moreover, the management server 200 manages the device configurationinformation of the printer devices 100A to 100D, and holds the latestdevice configuration information all the time by making a request foracquiring the device configuration information to each of the printerdevices 100A to 100D according to the requirement.

FIG. 7 is conceptual diagram showing a list of device configurationinformation in the management server 200. The management server 200stores in the internal storage device 211 information related to a modelname, processing capacity, and security function of the printer devices100A to 100D as the device configuration information to be managedinternally. Regarding the processing capacity, information relatedprinting speed and possibility of color printing is stored. Moreover,regarding the security function, detailed information of a processexecuted by the security ROM 112 a and information related to theconfidentiality function is stored.

For example, information such as a printer device (100A) which has amodel name AR-450S has a processing capacity of 45 monochrome prints perminute, can perform invalidating (deletion) of data, frequency settingof invalidating process, and encryption of data as a process executed bysecurity ROM 112 a, and moreover can receive an execution request ofconfidential printing, is stored. Moreover, in other deviceconfiguration information, information of a model name (AR-C260M) inwhich invalidating (deletion) of data and the frequency setting can beperformed, but data protection by encryption can not be performed, amodel name (AR-450M) that does not have a function to protect data byinvalidating and encrypting the data but can perform confidentialtransmission and reception in confidential printing and facsimiletransmission, and model name (AR-F210P) that receives only an executionrequest for confidential printing, is stored.

In the present embodiment, when it is a newly connected client apparatus300C, the management server 200 refers to the user management table 211a and information related to security function for the deviceconfiguration information and selects the printer device 100 to berecommended for use to the user of the client apparatus 300C, and theselected information is provided to the client apparatus 300C.

Concretely, when there is a request for acquisition of the printerdriver from the client apparatus 300C, the management server 200, tostart with, makes a judgment of a security level of each of the printerdevices 100A to 100D. The security levels can be classified in a numberof stages according to the capacity to protect the data. In the presentembodiment, the security level is classified into three stages, and aprinter device that has no security function for data at all, or aprinter device that has a confidentiality function but no function fordata invalidating process and data encrypting process is let to have asecurity level zero, and the printer device is judged to be belonging toa low level of capacity to protect data. Moreover, a printer device thathas a confidentiality function and for which the data invalidatingprocess can be executed, but the data encrypting process cannot beperformed is let to have a security level one, and the printer device isjudged to be belonging to a comparatively high level of capacity toprotect data. Furthermore, a printer device that has all of theconfidentiality function, the invalidating process function, and theencrypting process function is let to have a security level two, and theprinter device is judged to be belonging to the highest level ofcapacity to protect data.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the security level of model name AR-450Sis two, the security level of model name AR-C260M is one, and thesecurity level of model name AR-450M and AR-F201P is zero.

Moreover, the management server 200 makes a judgment of the securitylevel of data handled by the user (hereinafter, “user level”). Asdescribed earlier, since the management server 200 has the usermanagement table 211 a in which the network address and the informationrelated to that user is associated and stored, it is possible to acquirethe information related to the user of the connected client apparatus300C. In the present embodiment, the user level is classified into threestages based on an official post of the user. For example, when the useris a head, the user level is let to be two and data handled by this useris judged to have high confidentiality. At this time, the managementserver 200 recommends a printer device 100 having a security level twoto that user. Moreover, when the user is a chief, the user level is letto be one and data handled by this user is judged to have somewhat highconfidentiality. At this time, the management server 200 recommends aprinter device 100 having a security level one to that user.Furthermore, when the user is neither a head nor a chief, the user levelis let to be zero and data handled by this user is judged to have lowconfidentiality. At this time, the management server 200 recommends aprinter device 100 having a security level zero to the user.

When there is a plurality of printer devices 100 having the samesecurity level over the communication network N, a printer device havinga high processing capacity may be recommended or a plurality of printerdevices 100 may be recommended.

Moreover, a method for classification of the security level of each ofthe printer devices 100A to 100D and the security level of data handledby the user is not restricted to the method described earlier and themanager of the management server 200 may be let to voluntarily set it inadvance.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram describing an internal configuration of theclient apparatus 300C. The client apparatus 300C, concretely, is apersonal computer or a work station and includes a CPU 301 forcontrolling each section of hardware that is described later. A ROM 303,a RAM 304, an operating section 305, a display section 306, acommunication section 309, an auxiliary storage device 310, and aninternal storage device 311 are connected to the CPU 301 via a bus 302,and by reading and executing a control program that is stored in advancein the ROM 303, control of each section of the hardware is executed.

A printer search program for searching a printer device 100 that is overthe communication network N is installed in advance in the internalstorage device 311 of the client apparatus 300C, and by starting theprinter search program according to the requirement, information relatedto the printer device 100 over the communication network N can beacquired. In the present embodiment, the client apparatus 300C does notacquire the information by performing communication directly with theprinter device 100, but acquires information that is provided from themanagement server 200 by making an access to the management server 200.The information provided by the management server 200 includesinformation related to a printer device 100 to be recommended for use asdescribed earlier.

An operation when the client apparatus 300C is connected over thecommunication network N is described below by showing concrete examplesof a screen.

FIGS. 9A to 9G are schematic diagrams describing an operation in aprinter search program that is installed in the client apparatus 300C.When the client apparatus 300C is connected to the communication networkN and the printer search program mentioned earlier is started, a programscreen shown in FIG. 9A is displayed on the display section 306 of theclient apparatus 300C. In this state, when an execution key 11 at aright corner of the screen is pressed by a mouse of the operatingsection 305, the program screen changes to a screen shown in FIG. 9B anda request for acquisition of a printer driver is made from the clientapparatus 300C to the management server 200. Further, when a stop key 12on the program screen in FIG. 9A is pressed, the request for acquisitionof the printer driver is not made and the printer search program ends.

Further, when printer information is transmitted from the managementserver 200, the printer search program displays the printer informationon the program screen (refer to FIG. 9C). In an example shown in FIG.9C, model names of four models described earlier are displayed as wellas AR-450S displayed at a top is displayed as a recommended printerdevice 100. Moreover, by a schematically shown key mark, it is displayedthat models AR-450S and AR-C260M have security function and a securitylevel of these printer devices 100 is expressed in number on a rightside of the key mark.

Moreover, a check box 15 is provided on a left side of each model nameand by checking the check box 15 by using the operating section 305, aprinter device 100 desired by the user can be selected (refer to FIG.9D).

After one or a plurality of printer devices 100 is selected, when anexecution key 13 is pressed, the selected information is transmitted tothe management server 200, and when a stop key 14 is pressed, theselected information is not transmitted and the program screen shown inFIG. 9A returns.

When the selected printer driver of the printer device 100 istransmitted from the management server 200, the program screen changesto a screen shown in FIG. 9E and a preparation for setting the printeris made. Then, when an execution key 16 is pressed, installation of theprinter driver starts practically and the program screen changes to ascreen shown in FIG. 9F. When the installation ends, end of installationis displayed on the program screen (refer to FIG. 9G). Further, when astop key 17 is pressed on the program screen in FIG. 9E, the printerdriver is not installed and the process is completed by the printersearch program.

The printer device 100 thus selected can be selected from a printersetting screen while performing the printing practically. FIG. 10 toFIG. 13 are schematic diagrams showing print-setting screen. When imagedata and document data created in the client apparatus 300C are to beprinted, a printing job is generated by the printer driver and a requestfor execution of the printing job can be made to the selected printerdevice 100.

When the printing job is generated, the print-setting screen shown inFIG. 10 is displayed on the display section 306. The print-settingscreen includes a printer setting section 21 that performs a setting forthe printer unit 100 that is used, a print-range setting section 22 thatperforms a setting of a print range, and a print-copies setting section23 that performs a setting of a number of copies to be printed. Here,when an execution key 24 is pressed, a printing job is generatedpractically and the printing job is transmitted to the printer device100 selected in the printer setting section 21. Moreover, when a cancelkey 25 is pressed, the printing job is not generated and the setting ofprints ends.

A printer selection column 21 a for selecting a printer device 100 to beused and a property button 21 b for setting details of the printingprocess are disposed in the printer setting section 21. Model names ofprinter devices 100 that can be used practically and security level ofthese printer devices are displayed in the printer selection column 21 a(refer to FIG. 11). Moreover, when the property button 21 b is pressed,the print-setting screen changes to a screen shown in FIG. 12 andvarious settings related to printing process can be performed. In thepresent embodiment, even for the security function various settings canbe performed and when a security button 31 is pressed, a securitysetting screen is displayed (refer to FIG. 13).

On the security setting screen, setting of availability of execution ofa deletion process, setting of frequency of deletion of data,availability of execution of an encrypting process, and an applicablemode can be performed.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are flow charts describing a processing procedure ofthe information processing system according to the present embodiment.

To start with, the client apparatus 300C transmits a request foracquisition of the printer driver to the management server 200 bystarting the printer search program that is described earlier (stepS11). When the management server 200 receives the request foracquisition of the printer driver that is transmitted from the clientapparatus 300C (step S12), the management server 200 transmits a requestfor acquisition of the device configuration information to the printerdevice 100 (step S13). Then, when the printer device 100 receives therequest for acquisition of the device configuration information (stepS14), the printer device 100 extracts device configuration informationof each of printer devices 100A to 100D from the system management table103 a and transmits to the management server 200 (step S15).

When the management server 200 receives the device configurationinformation transmitted from each of the printer devices 100 (step S16),the management server 200 makes a judgment of a security level of eachof the printer devices 100A to 100D based on information related to thesecurity function included in the device configuration information (stepS17). Next, the management server 200 refers to the user managementtable 211 a and makes a judgment of a user level of the user of theclient apparatus 300C (step S18), and determines a printer device 100 tobe recommended according to the user level (step S19). Then, themanagement server 200 transmits printer information that includesinformation of the printer device to be recommended to the clientapparatus 300C (step S20).

When the client apparatus 300C receives the printer information (stepS21), a list of printer information that is searched as shown in FIG. 9Cis displayed on the display screen 306 (step S22), and the clientapparatus 300C receives a selection of printer device 100 (step S23).Then, the client apparatus 300C transmits information of the selectedprinter device 100 (selection information) to the management server 200.

When the selection information is received by the management server 200(step S25), the management server 200 transmits a corresponding printerdriver to the client apparatus 300C (step S26). Next, when the clientapparatus 300C receives the printer driver, the client apparatus 300Cperforms setting of the printer driver (step S27).

Further, in the present embodiment, although the structure is such thatwhen the request for acquisition of the printer driver is received fromthe client apparatus 300C, the request for acquisition of the deviceconfiguration information is transmitted to each of the printer devices100, when a structure is such that the management server 200periodically performs communication with the printer device 100 and thelatest device configuration information is held all the time in theinternal storage device 211, a judgment of security level may be made byusing the device configuration information stored in the internalstorage device 211 without performing process from step S12 to step S16.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, when a search request forinformation device to be used is received via a communication line, aninformation device to be recommended for use according to a requester ofthe search request is selected based on device information stored inadvance, and device information of the selected information device istransmitted to the requester. Therefore, it is possible to provide aninformation device that is suitable for the requester of the searchrequest, and to check easily an existence of the suitable informationdevice without checking each information device on a search requestside.

According to the present invention, since the information device to berecommended for use is selected based on device information and userinformation related to a user of a second information processingapparatus, it is possible to provide a suitable information device tothe user and to check easily an information of the suitable informationdevice without checking each information device via the communicationline, even on a user's side.

According to the present invention, information related to a securityfunction for information to be processed is included in the deviceinformation. Therefore, it is possible to provide a suitable informationdevice according to a confidentiality of information that is handled bythe user and to acquire information about the information device withoutchecking each information device that has a security function forinformation, even on the user's side.

According to the present information, setting information such as adriver program that is to be set while using the information device, isstored and transmitted according to the requirement. Therefore, it ispossible to acquire information of a suitable information device withoutchecking each information device via the communication line on theuser's side, as well as to acquire easily setting information requiredwhile using that information device.

According to the present invention, means for performing an imageforming based on image data received by the information device isincluded. Therefore, for an image forming apparatus such as a printerthat is connected to the communication line, it is possible to providesuitable information for use by the user and to acquire easilyinformation of an image forming apparatus that suits user's object,without checking each image forming apparatus via the communicationline, even on the user's side.

According to the present invention, the information device includesmeans for transferring image data that is created upon reading an imageon a document. Therefore, for an image reading apparatus such as anetwork scanner connected to the communication line, it is possible toprovide information suitable for use by the user and to acquire easilyinformation of an image reading apparatus that suits user's objectwithout checking each image reading apparatus via the communicationline, even on the user's side.

1-13. (canceled)
 14. A method of information processing in which deviceinformation of one or plurality of information devices is stored and thedevice information is transmitted according to a request received fromoutside, comprising the steps of: receiving a search request forinformation device; selecting an information device to be recommendedfor use to a requester of received search request based on the storeddevice information; and transmitting device information of the selectedinformation device to the requester.
 15. An information processingsystem comprising: a first information processing apparatus; a secondinformation processing apparatus; one or a plurality of informationdevices; and a communication line for connecting said first informationprocessing apparatus, said second information processing apparatus, andsaid information device, wherein said second information processingapparatus includes a search request transmitting section that transmitsa search request for searching an information device to be used to saidfirst information processing apparatus, and said first informationprocessing apparatus includes a device information storage section thatstores device information related to said information device, areceiving section that receives the search request transmitted from saidsecond information processing apparatus, a selecting section thatselects an information device to be recommended for use according to thereceived search request based on device information stored in saiddevice information storage section, and a device informationtransmitting section that transmits device information of the selectedinformation device to said second information processing apparatus. 16.The information processing system according to claim 15, wherein saidfirst information processing apparatus further includes a userinformation storage section that stores user information related to auser of said second information processing apparatus, and said selectingsection selects an information device to be recommended based on thesaid user information and the device information stored in said deviceinformation storage section.
 17. The information processing systemaccording to claim 15, wherein the device information includesinformation related to a security function for information to beprocessed by information device.
 18. The information processing systemaccording to claim 16, wherein the device information includesinformation related to security function for information to be processedby information device.
 19. The information processing system accordingto claim 15, wherein said first information processing apparatus furtherincludes a setting information storage section that stores settinginformation to be set when said second information processing apparatususes said information device and a setting information transmittingsection that transmits the setting information to said secondinformation processing apparatus.
 20. The information processing systemaccording to claim 15, wherein said information device includes areceiving section that receives image data and an image forming sectionthat performs image forming on a sheet based on the received image data.21. The information processing system according to claim 15, whereinsaid information device includes a creating section that creates imagedata by reading an image on a document and an image data transmittingsection that transmits the created image data to outside.
 22. Aninformation processing apparatus that can be connected to one or aplurality of information devices via a communication line, comprising: astorage section that stores device information related to the connectedinformation device; a receiving section that receives a search requestfor an information device; a selecting section that selects aninformation device to be recommended for use according to a requester ofthe search request based on device information stored in said storagesection; and transmitting section that transmits device information ofthe selected information device to the requester.
 23. A memory mediumreadable by a computer in which a computer program is recorded, causingthe computer to transmit information related to information devicestored in advance based on a received request, said memory mediumstoring a computer program causing the computer to execute the steps of:causing the computer to select an information device to be recommendedfor use according to a requester of a received search request forinformation device based on the stored device information; and causingthe computer to transmit device information of the selected informationdevice to the requester.
 24. The memory medium according to claim 23,wherein the data information includes information related to a securityfunction for information to be processed by information device.
 25. Amemory medium readable by a computer in which a computer program isrecorded, causing the computer to transmit information related toinformation device stored in advance based on a received request, saidmemory medium storing a computer program causing the computer toexecutes the steps of: causing the computer to select an informationdevice to be recommended for use according to a requester of a receivedsearch request for information device based on user information of therequester and the device information stored in advance; and causing thecomputer to transmit device information of the selected informationdevice to the requester.
 26. The memory medium according to claim 25,wherein the data information includes information related to a securityfunction for information to be processed by an information device.